Run317

Since I never got around to it during the spring or summer, here are some race recaps!

Race for Roofs 5K – April

The Race for Roofs 5k was our first 5k of the year. It was a nice community event and took place in the Englewood neighborhood on the near east side. The youth running group in that neighborhood is fast bunch! It is nice to see how supportive they are of their teammates and how happy they are to be running. Look at the cute boxes we received for running the race.

Each box included a delicious homemade peanut butter granola bar. I have made them at least half a dozen times since the race! The race was on the smaller side, but Drew and I both finished first! (Drew 17:46, Taylor 22:46) I think the course was a touch short. I have never been first female before, so it was quite exciting!!

If you look close at the award, you will note the age group is Female 40-54. They originally had me as a male on the results, so they had already given away the first place award. They had an unclaimed age group award that I accepted instead. I think I look pretty good for age 40 🙂 After the race, Drew took me to brunch at Bent Rail Brewery to celebrate my first place win 😀 The monte cristo was the best I have ever had and the side salad with goji berries was delicious as well.

Glass City – April

Last year, Glass City was my first ever half marathon. This year, I only ran the 5k (Drew did the half), so I would have more time to train for the Indy Mini half. Glass City is always a fun race. Drew’s brother always runs and usually his mom does too. Drew: 1:23:21 Taylor: 24.11

We always go out to lunch after the race. This year we went to Big Boy’s, because we received coupons at the race.

Indy Mini – May

The Indy Mini was my spring half for 2016. I didn’t run as fast as I had hoped, but the race was a ton of fun. I think there was literally a water stop and band playing every mile. The coolest part was running around the race track and being able to watch fast people (like Evan) finish on the big screen. After the race, the boys got a crazy idea to climb 300+ steps to the top of the monument. The view was awesome, but I had a rough time going up and down all those steps. I guess I better work some stair stepping into my workout for next year, haha. After the race, we celebrated with breakfast at Biscuits and delicious strawberry birthday pie courtesy of Evan. Drew: 1:24:26, Taylor 1:54:57, Evan: 1:08:13

Run 317 Series

The Run 317 is a series of 5 Thursday night races held in different neighborhoods. There is still one race remaining in October. Originally, I thought it would be fun to race during the middle of the week and explore different areas of town all while forcing myself into much needed speed workouts. Turns out that I didn’t enjoy it that much. All the races are 3.17 miles long, and it is really hot in evening. Having the course be longer than a 5K was tough mentally (especially when it ran long), and I am much more of a morning racer. One of the races was un-timed because it was so hot. We opted not to attend that race and just run on the trail instead. The races we have attended so far are The Circle (Drew 18:29, Taylor 24:24), Broad Ripple (Drew 18:52, Taylor 25:28), and the Carmel Arts District (Drew 18:29, Taylor 24:32).

The Circle

Broad Ripple

Run the Runway – August

We ran this race with a friend in IL. It was raining all morning, but cleared up in time for the race. Some other people were supposed to run with us, but they didn’t come to the race. Instead, they met us afterwards for brunch. The race took place at the Rockford Airport on the runways. They had planes parked along the race course which was neat. Drew (17:46) and I (24:43) ran the 5k. Dane ran his first race doing the 1 mile and got first place in his age group. Way to go Dane!

After the race, we went to Egg Harbor Cafe for brunch and then headed to the Murray’s house to meet their new puppy, Piper. Newton had a great time playing with her. Piper was not so thrilled when she first met Newton. She would just collapse to the ground when he started to sniff her. After a while, she warmed up to him and ran around the yard chasing and nipping at his tail. His tail is quite popular with small dogs and puppies.

Overall, we didn’t run nearly as many races this year 😦 Drew ran one more when I was working a weekend and placed 2nd! I really miss having a competitive racing series like the Ohio Challenge Series or Hermes Racing Series near by. I enjoy being able to choose whatever races I want and not having to worry about how many points I will earn from running them, but I also enjoy being forced into running races more often. Now that I don’t have to work weekends anymore our race participation should be on the rise (hopefully a minimum of 1 per month with 4 planned for October!)